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Yayagram

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Re: Yayagram

#161
post #130

This is brilliant, but maybe I missed it: what happens when yaya's run out of thermal paper? It feels like the Achilles' heel of this design. Perhaps, a blinking LED for out of paper situation? Can yaya change the roll herself? I'm concerned about it because I loved this project in all aspects, I want it to be perfect.

Perhaps (depending on yaya's ability), it could detect a low-paper situation, and send a message to the creator, or perhaps order a new one directly?

These rolls usually have red lines on the last bit to warn you that it is getting to the end. Like this: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51mKXo5QBML...

Re: Yayagram

#163
post #36

On top of the points others in this thread have made, I think this is also a lesson for UX designers. It's really obvious how the Yayagram works and how to use it and this is how our UX should be.

I absolutely love it but is it really obvious how the jack connection thing works? I would imagine only to former switchboard operators and modular synthesizer players.

Or anyone who has used wired headphones.

Re: Yayagram

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bothers me to no end how many once simple devices have gone this way. I feel like I would be willing to pay more for simpler appliances at this point.

Touchscreens and tiny computers are cheap and getting cheaper. It’s easier than manufacturing specific components for “simpler” devices. I just wish companies would stop pretending like it’s an advanced feature rather than a cost-cutting measure.

Reason I will never buy a Tesla. But everyone else is jumping into the touchscreen mania too sadly. A touchscreen in a car jeez.

Re: Yayagram

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bothers me to no end how many once simple devices have gone this way. I feel like I would be willing to pay more for simpler appliances at this point.

Touchscreens and tiny computers are cheap and getting cheaper. It’s easier than manufacturing specific components for “simpler” devices. I just wish companies would stop pretending like it’s an advanced feature rather than a cost-cutting measure.

My washer and dryer are as advanced as I want laundry equipment to be. Physical dials to choose settings and my phone dings when a cycle finishes. The next time I buy a washer (hopefully many years from now) I think it's going to have a complex touchscreen with all sorts of features that get in the way of the "Spin dial to x setting and press Go" UX that's insanely easy to use.

Re: Yayagram

#166

This is brilliant. A single device that does one thing, and does it (hopefully) really well. It is a much needed antidote to the "all in one" apps we are seeing more and more of. Touchscreens really embody the "all in one" design pattern, and lend themselves to those types of apps. That's after all what they're intended for: interchangeable interfaces. Nice to see a modern service being used with an analog interface.

This is why I really enjoy the Kindle I just bought. A single use: reading books.

I feel the same way. I love its simplicity. Especially now that I found the setting to make my library the default view instead of the library/store combo screen. I have a baby, and the one-simplicity of my Kindle means I can read a book while rocking her to sleep and rubbing her back.

Re: Yayagram

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Touchscreens and tiny computers are cheap and getting cheaper. It’s easier than manufacturing specific components for “simpler” devices. I just wish companies would stop pretending like it’s an advanced feature rather than a cost-cutting measure.

Reason I will never buy a Tesla. But everyone else is jumping into the touchscreen mania too sadly. A touchscreen in a car jeez.

In my garage are a Tesla and a Subaru. They're both the first new cars I've ever owned and both are far more technologically advanced than anything I'd previously driven. So I'm a great guinea pig for testing modern car UIs.

The great thing about the Tesla is that the important things: park/drive/reverse etc. are all motions on a physical stalk. The rest is done on the touchscreen which has the advantage of being able to have full-text labels and clear submenus for less often used options. It's much more discoverable. The other great thing is that the touchscreen interface has the opportunity to GET BETTER over time.

The Subaru has more buttons and dials than any other machine I've ever owned. It's borderline aircraft cockpit. There is a physical control for darn near EVERYTHING. I love physical controls once you learn them, but figuring out the cryptic symbols for a button while driving is no safer than navigating a touchscreen.

I think there's a sweet spot somewhere between the two: the Tesla has too few physical controls and the Subaru has too many (though that opinion may change over time as I learn them all). I also wonder about interface wear and tear tradeoffs as both vehicles get older.

Don't forget that we also develop muscle memory for touch screens, which is why it takes a week to adjust when a popular phone app (or the whole OS) changes the position of an on-screen control.

Re: Yayagram

#168
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably be a web service that does that for you. Like those old fax webservices.

My bank sometimes requires me to "fax" documents to them using a phone number. I download their electronic documents, upload them to my esigning programing, esign them, then e-fax them using the esigning program to their fax "number". I'm sure on their end, they download the electronic "fax" and put it directly into their document system. There is no paper at any point in this process.

I was impressed when I bought a car for the first time and the dealership had a gigantic touchscreen for reviewing and signing all the paperwork. Took away the needless cycle of printing and scanning papers in an otherwise digital workflow.

Re: Yayagram

#169

Super cute and well executed project. But after imagining how this would work in practice, my loved ones sitting down to talk to a box and getting text responses some indefinite time later to recorded messages they might not even remember the contents of (I wouldn't), it seems comically sad. It makes me think of how unsatisfying it is to attempt any real convo over SMS. Then again, I'm sure it's a supplement to the w…

That's on the grandchildren. They need to learn how to reply to Yaya. "kthnx" won't work, but this will: "Hi Yaya, I just listened to your message about my first day back in school. Yes, I'm a little nervous about being around so many people after a year at home, but mostly I'm excited about seeing my friends again and getting to play sports. How are you? I hope your knee isn't acting up and you can get outside today. It looks like the weather is beautiful over there right now."

Re: Yayagram

#170
post #151

My thoughts are that the font should be larger for the names and and for the text output. Ideally include pictures next to the names, so even if it's hard to read, it would be easy to spot who you want to connect to. I didn't see it, but you also probably need a notification to reload the paper roll as you come to the end. This could be a warning LED and it could also be a warning text sent to some or all of the peop…

> you also probably need a notification to reload the paper roll as you come to the end. I think you just buy the paper rolls that are pink for the last (innermost) few feet of the roll.

Knowing some of the older people in my family, I'd be an hour into a phone call when they'd casually mention that their message box hasn't worked for the past month since it ran out of paper but they didn't want to be a bother and make me come over and fix it.
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